At the occasion of the 3rd International Festival of Abu Dhabi from 11-13 December 2014, and under the great applause of the participants from 80 (!) countries around the world, Karl-Heinz Gersmann, President of Deutscher Falkner Orden (German Falconry Order) proudly announced the inclusion of falconry in the National List of Intangible Cultural heritage.
After the official recognition of falconry as intangible cultural heritage was celebrated in 2011 in 11 countries, now the falconers and conservationists of birds of prey in Germany are proud of their achievement. From 83 applications for inclusion in the national list of intangible cultural heritage only 27 were successful – one of them Falconry.
CIC President of Honour, Dieter Schramm, who also attended the Festival as special guest of the U.A.E-sponsored Falconry Festival, underlined this exceptional achievement and pointed out, how vital this acknowledgement of the Hunting Culture is for the better understanding of people. He profoundly thanked the host country for the outstanding support and initiative of falconry’s recognition as World Heritage. The 80 countries present, amongst them Ukraine and Russia, Pakistan and India, benefit enormously in terms of a better and harmonious understanding through their common passion for the “art of hunting with birds”. Thanks to the generosity of the U.A.E., this practical outcome of the UNESCO recognition of falconry cannot be valued high enough.
To read the press release of the Deutscher Falken Orden (in German), please click here.
